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Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Yummy lunch from leftover rice

The other night I made a double batch of good jasmine rice, then had fewer people for dinner than I expected. The next day, I put the leftover rice to good use by making a yummy veggie fried rice. I turned to Steamy Kitchen, one of my favorite food blogs, for inspiration. I loosely based my lunch on this recipe, using veggies and ingredients I had on hand, and it turned out great -- much better than the fried rice an ex- boyfriend of Asian descent used to make for me ... but we won't go there. Anyway, here's how I made mine. I served it with a few slices of leftover grilled chicken and a few slices of pineapple.

Vegetable Fried RiceServes one mom and one growing 13-year-old boy as a main dish for lunch

1 Tablespoon oil1 cup or more minced vegetables (I used a few sliced baby carrots, about 1/2 of a red bell pepper, a handful of sliced sugar snap peas, and the florets from a stalk of broccoli)1 tsp + 1 ½ tbs soy saucePinch of sugar1 tsp finely minced garlic (I used the stuff from a jar)4 cups cooked day old ricePinch of ground ginger (fresh ginger is better but I didn't have any in the fridge)1 tsp sesame oilsalt & pepper to taste

1. Heat 1 Tablespoon cooking oil on high. When oil is hot but not smoking, add vegetables - one kind at a time - in order of what takes longest to cook (I did carrots, then the red pepper, then the sugar snap peas and broccoli). Season with 1 teaspoon of the soy and a pinch of sugar to bring out the flavors of the vegetables. Fry until the vegetables are 80% cooked through. Add garlic and cook very briefly until fragrant (This is contrary to the directions on Steamy Kitchen. I learned this trick at a Wegman’s stir-fry class; if you add the garlic at the end, it is less likely to burn.)